Category: Events

The weather is pretty cozy right now with it not being too cold yet so it’s still a great time to catch the Cinemagic screenings next month. I’ve watched two of the movies they’re going to be showing, American Splendor and of course Akira. Both of them were really great and Akira honestly is a classic and a must watch if you haven’t already. Embarrassingly I’ve never watched Grease although I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. Here is the January movie screenings list:

Thursday, January 5th at 7:30pm
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar.

Saturday, January 7th at 7:30pm
DON’T LOOK BACK
Documentary covering Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.

Thursday, January 12th at 7:30pm
THE DINNER GAME
Each week, Pierre and his friends organize what is called as “un dîner de cons”. Everyone brings the dumbest guy he could find as a guest. Pierre thinks his champ -François Pignon- will steal the show.

Saturday, January 14th at 7:30pm
THE GREAT DICTATOR
In Chaplin’s satire on Nazi Germany, dictator Adenoid Hynkel has a double… a poor Jewish barber… who one day is mistaken for Hynkel.

Thursday, January 19th at 7:30pm
THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED
Should Tom (Duris) make like his thuggish father or pursue his dream of becoming a pianist?

Saturday, January 21st at 7:30pm
THRONE OF BLOOD
A ruthlessly ambitious lord, egged on by his wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become Emperor.

Thursday, January 26th at 7:30pm
GREASE
Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?

Saturday, January 28th at 7:30pm
AKIRA
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of psionics can stop.

Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. Entrance is free of charge and includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

As promised I’ve got more information on the comedy club that’s opening up in Kuwait. The comedy club called “Live” will open and ready on January 4th in the basement of Discovery Mall. For the opening, Ronnie Khalil the popular Arab American comedian from Miami will fly in for 5 days of stand up comedy. There will also be Local comedians on tap for each evening.

Timings
January 4th, 7th and 8th: 7:30pm to 9:00pm
January 5th and 6th: 6:30pm to 8:00pm and 9:00pm to 10:30pm

Ticket Prices
KD20 KD10 for choice seats
KD35 KD20 for premium Seats

Tickets can be purchased at the door or you can call 50500019 for booking and more information.

Update: The prices have been updated, for more information on this check [Here]

This is the last Cinemagic screening of the year and they’re ending it with one of my favorite movies and one of the best movies ever made… Brazil. The only other movie I’ve seen on the list is Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr.Fox which was really great as well. Here is the full list:

Thursday, December 1st at 7:30pm
A BAND’S VISIT
A band comprised of members of the Egyptian police force head to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab arts center, only to find themselves lost in the wrong town.

Saturday, December 3rd at 7:30pm
FANTASTIC MR.FOX
An urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers’ retaliation.

Thursday, December 8th at 7:30pm
WE LIVE IN PUBLIC
A documentary focusing on the life of dot-com entrepreneur Josh Harris, and his exploits over the last decade.

Saturday, December 10th at 7:30pm
THE ICE STORM
1973, suburban Connecticut: middle class families experimenting with casual sex, drink, etc., find their lives out of control.

Thursday, December 15th at 7:30pm
THE LEGEND OF THE HOLY DRINKER
This is an enchanting, mesmeric fable. It tells the story of an alcoholic who strives for redemption, but is cheated out of attaining it again and again – either by drink or friends or any of the myriad pleasures life throws at us. And yet somehow – miraculously – the drinker’s soul remainsintact; his final mission frustrated, temporarily foresaken but never entirely forgotten.

Saturday, December 17th at 7:30pm
12 ANGRY MEN
A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court.

Thursday, December 22nd at 7:30pm
THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON
Daniel Johnston, manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love.

Saturday, December 24th at 7:30pm
RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE
In the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 metres deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up! This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus.

Thursday, December 29th at 7:30pm
BRAZIL
A bureaucrat in a retro-future world tries to correct an administrative error and himself becomes an enemy of the state.

Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. Entrance is free of charge and includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

The Gulf Run karting event is coming up pretty soon. The race is taking place in Kuwait City on the 25th and 26th of November and it’s going to be a non-stop 26 hour endurance event. If it’s anything like their previous Gulf Run events then you know it’s going to kick ass. They still have some open slots so if you’re interested in putting together a team to participate it’s not too late. For more information and details check out my previous post [Here]

If you’ve never been to a Cinemagic rooftop screening then this would be the perfect month to do so since the weather really doesn’t get any better than this (when it’s not dusty). Also this month they’re playing some great movies with my favorite being Goodbye Lenin! Check out the full schedule below:

Thursday, November 10th at 7:30pm
GOODBYE LENIN!
In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.

Saturday, November 12th at 7:30pm
DOG DAY AFTERNOON
A man robs a bank to pay for his lover’s operation; it turns into a hostage situation and a media circus.

Thursday, November 17th at 7:30pm
COLONY
Several beekeepers around the U.S. cope with colony collapse disorder – the phenomenon that has caused millions of bees to mysteriously disappear.

Saturday, November 19th at 7:30pm
WAKING LIFE
A man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe.

Thursday, November 24th at 7:30pm
LA JETEE
Time travel, still images, a past, present and future and the aftermath of World War III. The tale of a man, a slave, sent back and forth, in and out of time, to find a solution to the world’s fate. To replenish its decreasing stocks of food, medicine and energies, and in doing so, resulting in a perpetual memory of a lone female, life, death and past events that are recreated on an airports jetée.

Thursday, November 24th at 7:30pm
SANS SOLEIL
“He wrote me….” A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

Saturday, November 26h at 7:30pm
ALICE
A surrealist re-visioning of Alice in Wonderland.

Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. Entrance is free of charge and includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

– Welcome to the Jungle Ball & Art Auction
– The Potential of a Nuclear Crisis in the Gulf: the Case of Bushehr
– Pink Tuesday at BSK
– Mad Musicals 7
– Opera & Tarab Evening

[YouTube]

Last Friday the finals for the Red Bull Breaking competition took place in Jordan. This is the biggest break dancing event in the region and two b-boys from Kuwait took part, b-boy Hush and b-boy Shady. They didn’t end up winning but you can still watch an edit of the finals in the video above or you could watch the qualification process that took place in Kuwait below. For more information on Red Bull Breaking you could visit their website [Here]

Since the weather has cooled down now with nice breezy evenings, the Cinemagic rooftop movies are back again and this year they’re no longer charging KD1, the movies are all free! Below is their schedule for October:

Thursday, October 6th at 7:30pm
THE FALL
In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastical story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances.

Saturday, October 8th at 7:30pm
THE ILLUSIONIST
A French illusionist finds himself out of work and travels to Scotland, where he meets a young woman. Their ensuing adventure changes both their lives forever.

Thursday, October 13th at 7:30pm
THE VISITOR
A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.

Saturday, October 15th at 7:30pm
WINGS OF DESIRE
An angel tires of overseeing human activity and wishes to become human when he falls in love with a mortal.

Thursday, October 20th at 7:30pm
HUNGER
Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.

Saturday, October 22nd at 7:30pm
LA HAINE
Abdel, a local hoodlum, is hospitalized after a riot, where a policeman lost his gun. His friend Vinz finds it and claims he will kill a cop if Abdel dies.

Thursday, October 27th at 7:30pm
BIG
When a boy wishes to be big at a magic wish machine, he wakes up the next morning and finds himself in an adult body literally overnight.

Saturday, October 29th at 7:30pm
THE SHINING
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.

Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. Entrance is free of charge and includes refreshments, popcorn and much more. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

Update: I just found out that they’ve removed the KD1 charge this year so I updated the post accordingly

My brother took some very cool shots of the Contemporary Art Platform launch exhibit that was held last week. The exhibit was made up of 100+ photographs, paintings and sculptures which highlighted “Kuwait’s refined aesthetic values and the market trends of the Arab art world”.

You can check out all the pictures he took on his Flickr page [Here]
If you want to find out more about the Contemporary Art Platform click [Here]

– Mojolaters Blues Band
– Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner
– Contemporary Art Platform Opening

Parkour fans are going to love this bit of news since it turns out this year Red Bull is including Kuwait in their world wide parkour event. Their event called Art of Motion pits the world’s top free-runners against each other in a globally staged contest. This year the event is going to be held in the USA, Japan, England, Brazil, Greece and Kuwait. Parkour has gotten pretty popular in Kuwait the past few years and a team recently competed in Arab’s Got Talent. The event is supposed to happen sometime in October and it will take place on Failaka Island. If you don’t know what parkour is just watch the video below:

[YouTube]

Our friends over at GulfRun are setting up a 26 hour endurance karting race. The race is going to be held on the 25th of November but registration has started already. Since it’s a 26 hour race each team is required to have at least 4 drivers or a maximum of 12. They’ll be building their own track in Kuwait City for this race which will be regulated by UK marshalls according to FIA regulations.

If you’re interested here is the link with more information [Here]

LoYac will be holding their Summer Program Expo tomorrow (Saturday) at 360 Mall. They will be having a bunch of different activities including a performance by DJ Miro from Marina FM, a performance by a Flamenco Band, a singing performance by Eisa Al Marzouq, Poetry, an acoustic guitar performance, break dancing and Nagy Souraty theatrical performance with LoYAC students in addition to booths for the different departments showcasing their work.

Date: Saturday, July 30th 2011
Location: Exhibition Hall, 360 Mall
Time: 4:00pm to 9:00pm

If you’re spending your first Ramadan in Kuwait then this seminar by the AWARE Center should be helpful:

Description: During the Holy month of Ramadan, many changes occur in Kuwait. Restaurants will change their working hours as will most workplaces and shopping malls. Traffic patterns also change and one may find their paperwork halted. There are laws and many tips that will help the western expatriate better understand the etiquette and rules associated with this month. Join us for a guideline of how to best experience the month of Ramadan with your Muslim neighbor and colleagues. Dr. Teresa holds her PhD in Information Science from the UK and is now assistant professor at Kuwait’s teachers college. She held the position as manager of the AWARE Center for three years and returns often to host presentations related to Arab and Islamic culture.

Date: July 26th, 2011
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Villa 84, Surra Street, Block 3, Surra Area

For more information you can call them on 25335280

The Avenues currently has a small book fair taking place opposite Soccer Scene and That AL Salasil in Phase II. The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) is showcasing a number of their publications and books by Kuwaiti authors with the aim of supporting the local authors as well as encouraging the reading and purchasing of books.

The book fair is going to be up until this Friday the 22nd of July.

Update: I passed by the book “fair” today and it’s more like a book shelf then a book fair.